Hi there. Sorry the comments on the previous post were closed. I posted that on my re-downloaded WordPess mobile app, thinking it might make posting on the fly easier. Didn’t realize it defaulted to closed comments; I just thought you guys were not into it yesterday. I need to find that setting and fix it.
How’d your No Kings rally go? Detroit’s went swimmingly, but as this is the third one, I’m no longer surprised by that. The first one, in…April? Yes, April 5. That one was a revelation, seeing thousands of people coming out to say, essentially, We Can’t Believe This Shit, And We Object. That was a moving march up and down Woodward, no speakers, just fellowship. The second, in June, was held at Clark Park, and was stationary; we came, held up signs, but didn’t listen to the speakers. (I kept hoping they’d put on a rousing playlist, but no.) This one, at Roosevelt Park under the newly renovated Michigan Central Station, was also a speaker-forward event. We walked around, took some pictures of the best signs, stayed a decent interval and left to enjoy a couple beers in the warm October sunshine.
The important thing is to show up. Be one of the millions who are not OK with what’s going on. There won’t be a quiz on the speakers’ remarks.
One guy was yelling about Palestine, with a sign that accused Biden, Harris and Trump of complicity in genocide. I pegged him as yet another Arab-American Jill Stein voter. It was a nice day, so I didn’t want to ask how the new regime was working out for his countrymen and women in Gaza. (As of Sunday? Not well.)
But it was the Grosse Pointe demonstration that was truly heartening. Officially it was for the Pointes, Harper Woods and the east side of Detroit, but it was really robust — a couple blocks of people covering the sidewalks at a busy corner, shaking signs. I didn’t stop because I was en route to Detroit, but honked the whole length of the demonstration. It was a long honk.
So we head into the cool months — I have to assume this will be the last one until spring — knowing we’re not alone, that millions are as horrified and distraught and angry as we are.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t seen this, you should see this:
This is what you-know-who posted early Sunday morning, after the No Kings protests had largely wrapped. I know none of these know-nothings care what the rest of the world thinks about us, but I do, and so should you. This is not just literally disgusting, it’s horrifying in what it says about the man who posted it. I wear my Is He Dead Yet? T-shirt with pride, but also dread.
This, by the way, is what the vice president posted yesterday:
— JD Vance (@jd-vance-1.bsky.social) October 18, 2025 at 3:32 PM
I guess he really is the worst stereotype of the American hillbilly: Mean, parochial, clannish, violent.
But let’s not dwell on the bad news as the week starts, OK? Seven million of us showed up yesterday. That’s something. Have a good one. Here’s a cute dog to cleanse your palate:
Peter said on October 19, 2025 at 5:14 pm
Good doggie!!!
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alex said on October 19, 2025 at 6:00 pm
Enjoying all the twattle memes, not to mention what it must be doing to Tubby’s ego. Maybe he’ll put a tampon over it like he did with his miraculously unscarred ear.
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Sherri said on October 19, 2025 at 6:10 pm
My husband reported a good turnout in Redmond, while I was at an ACLU-WA board meeting. (We scheduled the board meetings for the year about them time last year, and now twice, have managed to conflict with No Kings. Next year’s board meetings are already scheduled, so I can predict next year’s marches…)
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linda said on October 19, 2025 at 7:07 pm
Toledo’s turnout was excellent, and honkers cheered us on for a couple of miles.
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Jeff Gill said on October 19, 2025 at 8:20 pm
Newark, Ohio had a larger crowd than the previous two, cheerful & lively. Great sign game, too.
Relative to SE Michigan, this was interesting:
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/19/us/trump-news/0006d591-a730-5ee9-84e4-c62663408f9d
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Colleen said on October 19, 2025 at 11:00 pm
About a thousand people at the demonstration I went to in Sun City Center, a retirement community close to where I live,which was an excellent turnout. It was good…I feel less alone as a blue dot, and it was nice to be around like minded folk.
I find it interesting that they are reporting no arrests. So much for being violent America haters….
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Jeff Borden said on October 20, 2025 at 10:29 am
I’ve heard reports there were only 22 arrests nationwide and they were MAGA morons trying to provoke a violent response. Not surprising.
It is mind-boggling how many people believe the protesters were paid professionals. You have to be dumber than a sack of hammers to believe there are 7 million professional protesters in ‘Murica, but then, we are a nation of imbeciles.
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Dexter Friend said on October 20, 2025 at 12:00 pm
When all those military brass were assembled to hear Trump and Keg’sBreath berate them and no coup d’état occurred, it confirmed nobody was going to invoke the 25th or otherwise depose this fascist deplorable administration.
Lots of costumed smiling shining people out for No Kings.
By cracky, when I demonstrated against continuing bombing of Viet Nam… in Detroit and in Chicago and in New York City and a few times in Fort Wayne, no costumes, no smiles, just focussed fist-clenched hate and chanting against the US foreign policy.
But it was 50-some years ago, just different vibes today. I wonder what it like during the Bonus Marches for those long ago soldiers as they marched in D.C.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/bonus-expeditionary-forces-march-on-washington.htm
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Jakash said on October 20, 2025 at 2:01 pm
“How’d your No Kings rally go?”
We were in downtown Chicago, but arrived a little late and couldn’t get close to Butler Field where the speeches were going on. So, we staked out a spot on a ramp on the south side of the Art Institute and just watched as the march began. It hadn’t been our plan, but having an elevated spot from which to view the proceedings as the whole, wonderful panoply of patriots filled the street and just kept coming was captivating.
So many clever outfits, so many clever signs, and not just a bunch of old white people like us. We ended up staying there from the beginning to the end, which took about an hour-and-ten minutes, admiring the mass of wall-to-wall everyday people marching by. This was on Jackson — many went a block south before heading west, so it would have taken even longer if not for that. Uh, there were a LOT of folks.
As the Dolt in a Diaper inflatable went by, followed by cops, signaling the end of the line, we joined in and headed to and north on Michigan Avenue with the throng. A number of other late-comers joined in behind us, as we made our way north. The whole thing was impressive, indeed.
A guy was handing out little American flags, but they were bigger than the ones we had carried in June, so we obtained a couple. They were arranged upside-down on the little staff. My wife left hers like that, but I slid mine off and replaced it stars-up. I refuse to let the long-time flag-waving “law-and-order” Republicans who’ve attempted for generations to co-opt the flag as their own symbol of a warped version of patriotism have the flag to themselves. Let them have the Confederate and Nazi banners that so many of them embrace. The flag represents freedom, actual patriotism and a country that has evolved with a mission to ensure equality for all, not just “Christian” white people.
It boggles the mind that, in a single lifetime, we’ve gone from a country that helped spearhead the greatest anti-fascist coalition in history to one in which the orange felon and his minions attempt to make Antifa / scism seem like a sinister movement.
Do the “let’s have civility” gang of right-wingers at least have the consistency to cringe when they see those previously unimaginable videos you linked to? Oh, right — they’re also the “fuck your feelings” fuckers.
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Julie Robinson said on October 20, 2025 at 4:00 pm
The false king is tearing down part of the East Wing of the White House to build his ballroom. I have so many questions.
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Chris said on October 20, 2025 at 4:03 pm
Am I the only one who thinks Trump stole the crown from a 1970s Imperial margarine commercial? The protest in the Fort merged a bit with the annual zombie walk for a touch of seasonal color. A friend from high school reported 200 in deep red LaGrange, IN which gave me hope.
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Sherri said on October 20, 2025 at 4:30 pm
All of the focus seems to be on the shrapnel that hit and damaged a CHP vehicle, but what about shutting down a 17 mile stretch of a major freeway to have live fire things go boom demonstrations for Vance and Hegseth?
I mean, I know Bill Clinton once got a haircut on a plane, but at least haircuts don’t rain shrapnel on anyone else.
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Sherri said on October 20, 2025 at 4:39 pm
Sea otters are stealing surfboards in Santa Cruz:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sea-otter-commandeers-surfer-s-board-in-santa-21109175.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2ZjaHJvbmljbGUuY29tL2JheWFyZWEvYXJ0aWNsZS9zZWEtb3R0ZXItY29tbWFuZGVlcnMtc3VyZmVyLXMtYm9hcmQtaW4tc2FudGEtMjExMDkxNzUucGhw&time=MTc2MDk5MjcwNDI3MQ%3D%3D&rid=Y2MzMjY5MzQtZDFhNC00YWY3LTllMzItZjdkMDc5YmQwODhj&sharecount=MA%3D%3D
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Sherri said on October 20, 2025 at 7:02 pm
The planning commissioner in me loves this: ICE in Portland is violating their Conditional Use Permit!
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/us/politics/portland-ice.html?unlocked_article_code=1.u08.5xGU.aDJYmeqTFL_Y&smid=url-share
Beyond land use regulations, though, I’d like to see cities start threatening impact fees on the federal government, if the federal government is going to threaten federal funds to cities and federalize the national guard and occupy them for no good reason other than Trump has decided they’re the enemy.
I remember not so long ago when the radical reactionary right wing was all in love with the Declaration of Independence (because it explicitly mentions God). Maybe they should re-read the list of offenses charged against King George in it.
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Heather said on October 20, 2025 at 7:12 pm
I know there are a few current/former journos who read this blog, plus some lawyers, I would assume, so you gotta read this story about the interim U.S. attorney and how she wanted her Signal convo with a law journalist to be off the record…after the fact. Lord help us if people this stupid actually manage to destroy this country. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna–lindsey-halligan-here
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tajalli said on October 20, 2025 at 8:40 pm
The fuller story about the military shelling show of force, let us all truly quake in our boots, is this.
The military fired live test rounds Friday without notifying state officials over I-5 filled with traffic, with “all safety precautions in place”.
The orange house and its drunk guy told Governor Newsom that they would tell him when they would order I-5 closed Saturday, but the Governor, after being informed of the unscheduled live ammo firing on Friday, ordered the closure himself early Saturday morning to prevent assure public safety.
The Saturday the event was terminated prematurely when a round exploded mid-air with shrapnel piercing a CHP vehicle and denting a CHP motorcycle as well as scattering shrapnel around the motorcycle.
And the big plan for this Wednesday is for Navy warships to fire missiles into camp Pendleton, in northern San Diego County. What could possibly go wrong.
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/military-s-safe-plan-fire-munitions-interstate-21109672.php
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tajalli said on October 20, 2025 at 8:50 pm
Turns out that the SF Bay Area had such huge and peaceful protests Saturday that what’s-his-name is planning to send the National Guard into San Francisco.
Benihoff, CEO of Salesforce, initially thought this was a great idea (!!) but got a lot of push-back and retracted his support. Hope the judges get cracking to prevent this invasion, as was done in Portland.
https://www.sfgate.com/bay-area-politics/article/trump-national-guard-troops-san-francisco-21109025.php
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tajalli said on October 20, 2025 at 8:55 pm
Error at 16.
“early Saturday morning to assure public safety”
“prevent being at the mercy of further idiocy”
I mean, what if those idiots “forgot” to order a closure and who do they think they are anyhow.
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Sherri said on October 20, 2025 at 9:14 pm
Ontario, Canada, just ran a 1 minute ad during the game 7 Seattle-Toronto American League Championship Series that was a Ronald Reagan anti-tariff radio address.
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Carter Cleland said on October 21, 2025 at 12:40 am
We had over a thousand people at the No Kings rally I “hosted” in Wilmette, Il! Tons of great signs, 5 quick and compelling speakers, a few chants, and much fellowship and community-building.
I promoted donating to the ACLU, Sherry, and told folks if they hadn’t cashed the check they got from Antifa/George Soros, they could write “pay to the order of the ACLU” on the reverse, and donate that way. I held up an ANTIFA PROUD sign that I said I’d gotten as a promo. (I’ll be here all week). Did garner $441 in cash money, and presume scores of attendees will donate online, a method I also pushed/suggested.
I warmed-up the crowd with some protest classics – People Get Ready, Work Together (Canned Heat), Military Madness (Graham Nash), What’s Goin’ On, Love’s in Need Of Love, Staples Respect Yourself, and A Change is Gonna Come.
All in all, a great and important event.
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Jeff Gill said on October 21, 2025 at 8:14 am
“I wasn’t expecting some kind of Butlerian jihad…”
#MontyPythonJoke
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/oct/21/channel-4-first-ai-presenter-dispatches
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Dexter Friend said on October 21, 2025 at 2:13 pm
There was a time when America revolutionaries of the 1960s and 1970s would have cheered the demolition of The White House at 1600 Penna Ave., but while I understood the passion of the people who bombed administration and or research buildings like what Karl Armstrong, his brother, and David Fine did in Madison 55 years ago, I realize killing a student and destroying the façade of that building didn’t slow down the bombing and field ops in Viet Nam by a nanosecond.
https://news.wisc.edu/when-bomb-tore-through-sterling-hall-he-was-inside-i-still-have-flashbacks/
Seeing a mad man, a felon who has become de facto king of the USA begin tearing down the end of The White House strikes me as a sickening act worthy of storming the goddam place and arresting the perpetrator. Trump must be stopped and I would love to see the bastard in stir for the rest of his crooked fucked-up life.
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FDChief said on October 21, 2025 at 4:17 pm
The very idea of shooting a mission over live civilians (or live soldiers, in peacetime) fills me (the former artillery fire direction guy) with horror. As the Gyrene arty unit found out, there’s SO many ways for that to go wrong; wrong data to the guns, wrong setting on the sights, wrong charge, wrong (as what appears to have happened) fuze setting.
That this fuckup is classic Trump Administration is also no surprise; these are not bright people, and their organizational skills would embarrass a four-year-old and not a bright child, at that.
My guess is that the original idea was to get the random citizen complacent about military dick-swinging in CONUS. That way when these traitors start using GIs for domestic political ratfucking it will delay and disperse the pushback.
It’s worth noting that we’re not seeing the main press outlets coming hard after this nonsense, either, so in that sense it’s working.
Atrocious, but entirely expected from these scum.
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Mark P said on October 21, 2025 at 7:41 pm
If Trump survives to the end of his term, and the US survives, and a Democrat wins the presidency (a lot of ifs), I hope the first thing the new president does is order the wrecking ball to the ballroom. The second thing should be to order all the fake gold removed from the White House. Then the prosecutions can begin.
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LindaG said on October 22, 2025 at 8:22 am
Ad during CBS Sunday morning and Face the Nation: Become an ICE agent: $50,000 signing bonus, student loan forgiveness.
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